Soudal Quick-Step’s 24-year-old and his teammates came home with the bunch on stage one.
Remco Evenepoel enjoyed a quiet day in the saddle as he returned to competition for the first time since the Itzulia Basque Country crash which forced him to miss the Ardennes Classics. The Belgian Champion, who sits on four victories since the start of the season, pinned on a number for the 76th edition of the Critérium du Dauphiné, which got underway Sunday.
Starting and finishing in Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule, the opening stage welcomed the riders with a weather more typical for Paris-Nice than for the month of June – fog, wind and low temperatures all contributing to a rather bleak day in the saddle. Two men went in an early move, which remained at the front until the last 20 kilometers, when the peloton brought it back. In the end, a bunch sprint determined the day’s winner, who was Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), on a slightly uphill drag to the line.
Evenepoel concluded with the peloton and will now set his sights on the first test of the French race, Monday’s summit finish on Col de la Loge, where the first gaps between the general classification contenders should appear.
Photo credit: ©Dario Belingheri / Getty Images
